ZENITH GENERAL INSURANCE’S PROFIT BEFORE TAX RISES BY 16% TO N3.67bn

Zenith General Insurance Limited has released its full-year financial
statements for the year ended 31 December 2019. A review of the results
showed positive improvements on a year-on-year basis with profit before
tax rising by 16% from N3.16bn to N3.67bn while profit after tax rose by
10% up from N2.79bn to N3.06bn. The company also maintained a robust
balance sheet closing the year with total assets of N40.1bn and a
shareholders’ fund of N25.9bn.

Gross premium grew by 17% year-on-year from N13.7bn to N16.1bn, while
there was a 46% growth in underwriting profit from N2.77bn to N4.06bn.
The company made substantial gains from reduced claim expenses and
healthy growth in gross written premiums.

Investment income showed an increase of 2% year on year, up from N3.55bn
in 2018 to N3.63bn in 2019 despite lower yields on most investment
classes in 2019.

Commenting on the financial results, the Managing Director/CEO, Mr.
Kehinde Borisade said “we are re-affirming our mission statement that
Zenith General Insurance Ltd exists to ensure peace of mind and also
create value to people in a world of uncertainties. This is evident in
our strong financial performance showing improvement across the board
through increased premium income, underwriting profits and investment
income despite the economic headwinds witnessed in various sectors of
the economy. We also ensured prompt settlement of claims with total
claims payment of N3.8bn for the year and an average settlement
turnaround time of three days.”

He added that “our company has continued to maintain a very strong and
healthy financial position with a growth of 6% year-on-year on total
assets, and a 4% increase in shareholders’ funds. We also continue to
strive to be the best in the insurance industry; maintaining the
strongest solvency position and closing the year with a solvency ratio
of 726%”.

Zenith Insurance is one of Nigeria’s leading insurance institutions. The
company is one of the first Insurance companies to have met the
recapitalisation requirements of the National Insurance Commission
(NAICOM) by recapitalising its share capital from N3bn to N10bn.